Bing Webmaster Tools Adds Topics Portfolio Beta, Showing Which AI Search Topics Cite Your Competitors

Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, 14 October 2026.

Microsoft has added a new beta view called Topics Portfolio to the AI Performance report in Bing Webmaster Tools. The feature, announced on October 13, 2026 in a Bing Webmaster blog post by Krishna Madhavan, Saral Nigam and Vivek Jain, groups the grounding queries that lead AI answers to cite a site into broader topics. It also shows how large and how crowded each topic is, and which queries cite other sites but not yours.

What changed

Until now, the AI Performance report showed citations, cited pages and grounding queries one at a time. Topics Portfolio adds a layer above that. According to Microsoft, it contains:

• A topics table listing the topics where your site has a meaningful presence.
• Top Opportunity Queries, the strongest queries across your portfolio where other sites appear and yours does not.
• A topic detail page with three KPI cards (Topic Size, your citations in the topic and number of queries) plus two tables: your grounding queries and opportunity queries.
• Feedback controls on topic rows and opportunity queries.

Users can choose a one-, two- or three-month window.

The metrics, defined

Metric	Microsoft's definition
Topic	A broad cluster of related grounding queries where your site appears
Topic Size	Approximate total citations across all sites for the topic in the selected period, a proxy for AI search demand
Sites Cited	Approximate number of sites appearing for queries in the topic, a measure of how crowded it is
Queries	Approximate number of distinct grounding queries in the topic
Opportunity Queries	Queries where other sites appear and yours does not, with citation volumes shown as ranges

Caveats from Microsoft

Microsoft is unusually direct about the limits. It says topic classification is AI-generated and "can occasionally be imperfect", that Topic Size, Sites Cited and Queries are approximate, and that opportunity volumes are deliberately shown as ranges. Topics without enough site presence or ecosystem activity are hidden, so smaller sites may see few topics or none, and the tab only appears when there is sufficient data for a site.

Branded queries can also show up as opportunities. Microsoft's own example is a branded shoe query appearing as an opportunity inside a Running Shoes topic, a query a non-branded site is unlikely to be cited for. The authors advise treating the numbers as "directional signals for planning".

Context: Bing's AI reporting so far

Microsoft introduced AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools as a public preview on February 10, 2026. That report covers Microsoft Copilot, AI-generated summaries in Bing and select partner integrations, and reports Total Citations, Average Cited Pages, Grounding Queries, page-level citation activity and visibility trends. Search Engine Land noted in its coverage that the new topic view provides no click data.

The practical value is a different kind of signal: where AI answers are being built and which sites are cited, rather than which sites are clicked.

What this means for SEO teams

• Check the tab now. Open AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools and look for Topics next to Citations and Pages. If it is missing, Microsoft's guidance implies your site does not yet have enough citation data.
• Use Topic Size and Sites Cited together. A large topic with few cited sites is a better content target than a large topic where many sites already share citations.
• Filter branded opportunities. Remove competitor brand queries from opportunity lists before planning content, as Microsoft warns they can appear.
• Map opportunity queries to pages. For each high-range opportunity query, decide whether an existing page should answer it more directly or a new page is needed.
• Treat it as directional. Because the figures are approximate and ranged, use them to rank priorities, not to report precise numbers to stakeholders.

Conclusion

Topics Portfolio turns Bing's AI citation data into a topic-level view of where a site is present in AI answers and where competitors are cited instead. It is a beta, the numbers are approximate, and smaller sites may not see it at all.

For teams that already use the AI Performance report, it points directly at AI search content gaps, and it is worth reviewing alongside existing keyword research.

Questions and answers

What is Topics Portfolio in Bing Webmaster Tools?

It is a beta view inside the AI Performance report, announced by Microsoft on October 13, 2026, that groups the grounding queries where a site is cited into broader topics and shows topic-level metrics and opportunity queries.

What metrics does Topics Portfolio show?

Microsoft lists Topic Size (approximate total citations across all sites for the topic), Sites Cited (approximate number of sites appearing), Queries (approximate number of distinct grounding queries) and Opportunity Queries, where citation volumes are shown as ranges.

Why can't I see the Topics Portfolio tab?

Microsoft says the tab appears only if there is sufficient data for the site, and topics with insufficient presence or activity are hidden, so smaller sites may see few topics or none.

Does Topics Portfolio show clicks?

No click data is described in Microsoft's announcement. The report is based on citations and grounding queries, and Microsoft says the numbers are approximate.

When did Bing launch the AI Performance report?

Microsoft introduced AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools as a public preview on February 10, 2026.

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